Good to talk: Former Arsenal player Thierry Henry has been chatting to Usmanov (Picture: EPA)

Arsenal’s second biggest shareholder Alisher Usmanov has revealed Gunners legend Thierry Henry is trying to convince him to take over the club.

The Uzbek billionaire, who holds a 29.9 per cent stake in the club after buying out former vice-chairman David Dein, believes it is time to ring the changes at the Emirates.

‘I like many footballers, and I’m in contact with some of them. Perhaps my favourite of the last 10, 15 years is Thierry Henry. He’s pushing me to buy all of Arsenal’s shares, but I cannot predict the future,’ Usmanov said.

The world’s 28th richest man also claimed that the current Arsenal set-up only serves to make rivals stronger.

Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov

After seeing the Gunners sell the likes of Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Emmanuel Adebayor to domestic competitors over the last few years, Usmanov added: ‘The greatest achievement of Arsene Wenger is to have created two teams: the one that now plays for our rivals and the one that is trying to be among the best in the Premier League.

‘That’s why I say it’s not enough to merely flatter the coach but to give him the possibility to buy the best players, superstars. But not just stars but those chosen by Wenger.

‘It’s unthinkable that the shareholders get well-paid while, for small clauses in contracts, we lose key players, symbols like Robin van Persie, Mathieu Flamini or Patrick Vieira. We should have increased their salaries when they started to be courted, started to look elsewhere. I don’t know why we didn’t propose that to them.

‘For me, he’s one of the best coaches in the world but it’s not easy for him.

‘I think he deserves that players are brought in at Arsenal when they’re needed.’